The state's marijuana oversight board awarded Kirby Mastrangelo priority to license her marijuana business under an "economic empowerment" program, because Mastrangelo plans to employ people who have been disproportionately impacted by marijuana enforcement.

But when Mastrangelo took her business plan to a town manager recently, she was rebuffed.

"(The town manager) told me your priority status means nothing with us," Mastrangelo said. "They were in discussions with large scale operators, and this probably wasn't the place for me."

Massachusetts state law is unique because it requires state regulators to ensure that minority communities and people with drug arrests -- those who have been disproportionately impacted by marijuana enforcement -- are able to participate in the legal marijuana industry. The Cannabis Control Commission has been giving priority licensing to "economic empowerment" applicants, which lets them apply for a license sooner and have their applications rise to the top of the pile for consideration.

But practically, advocates for minority communities say state approval means nothing if businesses cannot get local approval from cities and towns. So far, that has proven difficult.

"Even though the state views my model as a priority, most cities and towns I contacted simply do not," Mastrangelo said.

Mastrangelo told her story Wednesday to a Cannabis Control Commission advisory board subcommittee on market participation, which is tasked with making recommendations to the commission on how to include women, minority and veteran-owned businesses and local agriculture in the marijuana industry.

Members of the board said Mastrangelo's experience is not unusual. Economic empowerment applicants may have gotten state priority approval, but many are floundering. They are not yet getting any technical assistance from the state, although a program is being set up. Many struggle with basic tasks like setting up a bank account. Some cannot get phone calls returned from municipal officials.

"We've all encountered folks who are trying to move forward or people who run into roadblocks," said subcommittee chairwoman Shanel Lindsay. "Municipalities need guidance from the commission that's explicit when it comes to what the equity program is, what it means, that it should be a priority at the city and town level."

Ross Bradshaw, a marijuana entrepreneur from Worcester who has economic empowerment status, said he has seen "little to no interest" among city and town officials in helping economic empowerment applicants. Either they do not know about the program or, Bradshaw said, "The unfortunate reality is they don't care."

Before it can open, a marijuana business needs a host community agreement with the city or town where it is located.

Bradshaw said he is not aware of any municipalities that prioritize licensing for economic empowerment applicants. "Without buy-in from cities and towns, what we're trying to attempt here in terms of creating an equitable industry is irrelevant," Bradshaw told the advisory board.

Bradshaw worried that with a number of municipalities capping retail licenses, by the time economic empowerment applicants are ready to apply, the licenses will be gone. "Typically, how it works in low-income minority communities is when opportunity comes, it's usually too late," Ross said.

Advisory board member Kim Napoli said one problem is some municipalities see host agreements as "a money grab."

"Even operators that have a lot of capital are finding themselves at the mercy of towns holding over their head a community host agreement to soak them for as much as they can get," Napoli said. "Economic empowerment applicants can't complete with that."

Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, said he has not talked to cities and towns about economic empowerment. But he said municipalities are still learning about the new law and industry.

"This is an emerging marketplace with lots of unknowns and new wrinkles and aspects that everyone is coming up to speed on," Beckwith said. "I know communities are very concerned about avoiding the appearance of preferential treatment for any category of applicant."

Beckwith said there needs to be a dialogue between state regulators and municipalities about how the economic empowerment program impacts cities and towns.

"Cities and towns are obviously interested in doing the best job they can in an emerging marketplace with rules that are just coming up online for implementation," Beckwith said.

Beckwith said municipalities are far from the only roadblock for fledgling business owners who sometimes have never run a business, do not have access to capital or have not operated in a regulated marketplace.

Advocates for minority businesses agree that there are other roadblocks. Bradshaw said there should be more state-sponsored technical assistance for economic empowerment applicants.

"Now, we have a number of well-financed and well-educated companies in terms of cannabis who know how to effectively navigate municipalities and federal laws that are now competing with economic empowerment applicants who are just starting to put their toes into the water and understand the industry," Bradshaw said.

Advisory board member Horace Small, executive director of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods, said, "I've been inundated in the community with phone calls and messages saying people got pre-approved and don't know what they're pre-approved for. They have no one to contact to find out how to go forward."

Small said the state needs to take longer before opening the legal marijuana market. Other states have taken three to four years to open regulated markets. "People of color and people who have been hurt (by marijuana enforcement) have been screwed by this system," Small said.

Small said the "poor black and brown kids busted over a joint" were the people the equity provision was meant to help. Instead, he said, "what's confronting them is chaos."

Henry Thomas, an advisory board member and president of the Urban League of Springfield, said there is "a perpetual cloud of uncertainty around access and equity issues associated with implementation of the legislation."

"There are question after question, how do I get in, how do I get a job in this space, how can I become an entrepreneur?" Thomas said. "I think the commission has been wholly inadequate and insufficient in getting information out to the general public."

The advisory board is recommending that the Cannabis Control Commission issue guidelines to municipalities that explain the law's equity provisions and recommend that municipalities create their own equity programs to prioritize economic empowerment license applicants.

The board is recommending that the commission hold public briefing sessions and create a multilingual website for economic empowerment applicants, which would include things like banking opportunities and a list of municipal bans and moratoriums. The advisory board is recommending better communication between the Cannabis Control Commission and the board, after members complained that the commission provided them with too little information.

The Cannabis Control Commission recently hired a director of community outreach. Executive Director Shawn Collins said the commission appreciates the feedback from the advisory committee.

"We remain committed to promoting participation from individuals and communities disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibition within the adult use cannabis industry, and are implementing initiatives and programs that meet those objectives," Collins said in a statement. "We will continue listening to all constituents as well as the Cannabis Advisory Board and encourage collaboration as we work together to implement a safe, equitable, and effective adult use cannabis industry in Massachusetts."